20 NY Costco workers share $202M Powerball jackpot

MELVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — The 20 oversized checks, each made out for $201.9 million, seemed appropriate for these lottery winners.

A group of 20 Long Island Costco employees calling themselves the “1937 Flatbush Avenue Dodgers” in tribute to the 73-year-old Brooklyn baseball fan among them who bought the winning ticket, stepped forward Thursday in the parking lot of the big box store where they work to claim first prize in a June 1 Powerball jackpot.

The winners, who opted to take a lump sum payout instead of stretching their winnings over 20 years, will actually share $70.2 million after taxes, New York state Lottery officials said. The group formed a legal entity named for the Dodgers, which will administer the distribution of the jackpot to the 20 new millionaires, lottery officials said.

The winners haven’t decided whether they will keep working at the massive store, where shoppers were filling up carts with industrial-sized boxes of soda, cleaning supplies, candy and other groceries amid the smiles and high-fives nearby. The employees include pharmacists, security guards, meat cutters, merchandise managers and supervisors.

“We’re all dedicated to making our money last, and just to breathe easy and have a happy life,” said Kim Karkota, one of two winners who were designated as spokespeople for the media-shy group.

Anthony Manzolillo, 73, of Lindenhurst, who bought the winning ticket, declined to speak with reporters. Co-winners said the group named itself after the Dodgers because Manzolillo was a fan of the Brooklyn team, which moved to California after the 1957 season. The 1937 designation apparently represents the year he was born.

Karkota said he called Manzolillo the morning after the winning numbers were chosen to confirm their good fortune.

“I’m like, Anthony, quickly get out of bed and go get the winning ticket because we won the Powerball last night,” Karkota recalled. “He said, ‘Really? We really, really won?’”

Karkota explained that the group each chipped in $5 a week and pooled their money for the lottery tickets. She said the group had only been playing Powerball together for about a month when they hit the jackpot.